Finding the fun, the growth and the joy in the midst of it all

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Who’s in Your 5?

You might have heard the popular quote from Jim Rohn “you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with.” I don’t necessarily believe this to be an absolute, but I find it an interesting idea to consider. And an interesting way to look at my own circle of influence.

What feels most true about that statement is that people in my life influence me, in ways I notice and in subtle ways that I don’t always notice. And when I am being intentional about directing my path, it really helps me to be intentional about who I am “listening” to. Especially because, I’ve got to be honest, I’m impressionable. Perhaps sometimes extremely impressionable. (I’m the girl who can see a Drake’s truck on the highway and suddenly crave a Ring Ding.)

So, it stands to reason that if I committed to a healthy lifestyle with loads of personal growth and discovery, I would want to have an inner circle with similar commitments, ideally people who are succeeding at these endeavors more than I am. Which is great. But sometimes I don’t get enough face time with these genius powerful gurus and I find myself lost in other influences (some might argue that we are living in a consumer driven, immediate gratification time at the moment). That’s where, for me, social media has come to the rescue. I intentionally seek and follow people on social media who are speaking my language and already doing the things that I most want to do myself.

It’s works so well for me that it’s a subtle form of brain washing, and I have to remind myself that not “everybody” is having kale for breakfast, making daily gratitude lists and doing yoga, just the people I am following. I love that my Instagram feed is awash in delicious whole food, inspirational quotes, yoga poses, people in nature, and small businesses succeeding one customer at a time.

And I gotta be honest, even when I’m not loving the way I’m feeling or fitting into my favorite winter clothes, if I’m seeing lots of posts about comfort food and glasses of wine, it’s pretty easy for me to pull the wool over my eyes and keep on doing what I’m doing. However, when my Facebook is full of posts from some of the people I like best talking about being on day 3, and 5 and 7 and 14 of a cleanse, detox, or health make over, I start to get the itch. They’re talking my language and they’re calling me home. (If you’re reading between the lines here, you might have guessed that I’m about to embark on a cleanse, you probably will be hearing more about that in the weeks to come.)

The way I see it, I’ve got big plans and it serves me best to line myself up for success in every way I again, working with all that’s available to me today. Social media support isn’t replacing the ‘real’ people in my life, and it never will. However, why not keep my channel turned to what I most want to see and hear?

Who are you listening to? Are they telling you what you need to hear to further your goals and dreams?